The latest addition to the Miss Dior line of fragrances strums up a new kind of nostalgia
The launch of the newest iteration of the iconic Miss Dior fragrance to hit local shores was hinged on love and art. An early afternoon spent with a paintbrush in one hand and a carefully balanced glass of rosĆ© in the other, we were invited to put acrylic to canvas, creating our very own tribute to Miss Diorās central pillar of love.
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The star of the afternoon, the Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet, has a blend of rose and peony at its core. Fresh and delightfully balanced, the scent is uplifted by a tinge of bergamot and finds footing in white musks.
It's delicate and light, but it lingers in a way that reminds me a little of family vacations to countries in springtime, and more so of my older sister who now lives halfway across the world. Coincidentally, she loved to paint, too, and would spend long afternoons in her bedroom doing just that; her playlists that spanned broadway to rock and roll indistinctly drifting through the doorway. |
Scent is the language of memory. Out of the five senses, smell is the one that shares the closest link with episodes once experienced and emotions once felt.Ā Perhaps that's what's so charming about fragrance: it picks up meaning. It sinks its roots into oneās memory, latches on to familiarity and stirs up a sensation. In the same way that the chemists and perfumers at Dior associate the Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet's tender, spring-like essence to Christian Diorās iconic love of flowers, I associate the first whiff of the eau de toilette with the scenes I've seen, people I've met.
In a simultaneous exploration into human emotion and celebration of Miss Dior's tenet of love, we at Wonder sent out love letters enclosed with a freshly spritzed sample of the Blooming Bouquet Eau de Toilette. What memories would the diverse florals bring to the fore? Which feelings would the fragrance call to the surface? Ahead, we hear from three individuals of varied backgrounds and experiences, each with their own slice of history to share.
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On childhood and closets
“I remember my first teacher like yesterday. Teacher Gemme was a fresh graduate; she was sweet and effervescent, and at the time I was a shy girl intimidated by her charisma. In first stepāwhat the school called the grade level before nurseryāI found it difficult to make friends. I think she knew that, because during class pair-work activities, she would come to me and tell me we were partners.
I distinctly remember one of our activities: the class went into a small room akin to a big closet, where the floor was covered with pillows and blankets. The walls were beaming with glow-in-the-dark stars and I remember Teacher Gemme pulling me onto her lap and pointing excitedly at them.
I havenāt seen her since I was four. But one whiff of the eau de toilette and I see her among the stars: the first friend of a bug-eyed, four-year-old girl, cramped in the center of a room that was far too small for the extraordinary woman she was.” āāTicia, 19
On generations and greenery
“This scent, while very familiar, isnāt foreign to my olfactory. At home, my motherāa woman who is allergic to too many thingsādespises strong floral scents like this. A whiff of bottled potent floral scents easily result in a sneeze fest. Meanwhile, my grandmother is the total opposite. She hoards bottles upon bottles of fragrant juices from balikbayan relatives. Little did she know, they were bought right within Philippine shores. Ironically, her room favors the smell of liniment and pain relief creams.
One time, my grandma brought home two garlands of sampaguita with a clump of ilang-ilangs. Mom asked me to secretly dump the ilang-ilangs. My grandma, with the air around her soaked in minty, herby odors, didnāt even notice.Ā
This is why, despite its ubiquity, opulent floral notes remain a stranger to my uninformed nose. But I did plant an ilang-ilang tree in our backyard. It would take five years before my mom asks me to cut down this tree.” āāOliver, 23
On the greatest and bravest kind of love
“At a whiff, the fragrance immediately took me back to very early mornings as a child, when despite whatever state of sleep I would have been in, usually a very deep kind, I would be woken to my senses by my mother kissing us goodbye before heading to work.
Much like Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet, her lingering and enveloping fragrance was reminiscent of a garden of flowers, with the best carefully picked and fashioned into a grip with a silky ribbon. Distinct and decided in her intentions, it was easily the surest way to get me started on the day as well, or at the very least leave a smile on my face as I went back to dreamland. And when the day ended, she would come back, shower us with kisses and the familiar scent would drape itself over, as if assuring us that all was and will be wellāin a way only mothers could do.” āāAngelo, 30
Experience love and all its sensibilities. Shop the Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet at Dior's newest boutique located at G/F The Podium, ADB Ave., Mandaluyong City.
Art Alexandra Lara
